


Mistaken

by BlueLotus



Category: A-Team (2010), Alias
Genre: Crossover, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-11-12
Updated: 2011-11-12
Packaged: 2017-10-25 23:35:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,094
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/276092
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BlueLotus/pseuds/BlueLotus
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When Will Tippin and Face's lives cross, it's a day neither of them will forget.<br/>Alias/A-Team crossover.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Mistaken

"...and she didn't even tell me her name!" Hannibal blinked and turned around, wondering where Face had suddenly disappeared to. "Face?"

The kid was just stood there, shocked expression, staring towards the exit. Hannibal frowned and walked over to him, laid a hand on his shoulder. Face startled.

"You okay, kid?"

"I... I dunno," Face muttered, the colour slowly returning to his cheeks. He looked at Hannibal before turning his gaze to the airport terminal exit again. Hannibal followed his line of sight and frowned.

"What is it?" he asked, quickly glancing around checking the airport for any sign of danger. "Was it Lynch?"

"Um, no... I just..." Face pursed his lips and narrowed his eyes. "Did you see him?"

"Who him?"

"That guy... He was with a pretty girl and... and an older man," Face said, brow creased in thought. The man he'd seen was the spitting image of him. Blonde, messy hair, at least six feet, but wearing glasses. It had really spooked Face.

Hannibal smirked and nudged Face's arm. "Pretty girl? Only you, kid, only you," he chuckled. "Come on, the boys are waiting for us."

Face shook himself, hefted his holdall over his shoulder and started to follow Hannibal towards the exit.

The sounds of police sirens stopped them in their tracks just before the exit and Hannibal back peddled them both out of sight. He then leaned forward, face instantly blanching.

"Boss?" Face frowned and pulled him back. "What's the matter? You okay?" He didn't wait for a reply, leaning to see for himself.

The scene was surreal. The pretty girl and the older man were arguing angrily with the police, but what caught Face's eye was the young guy - the one that looked like him - face down on the hood of a police car, cuffed wrists and stunned expression. Face cocked his ear, straining to listen over the commotion.

"I'm not ah... ah... Lieutenant Templeton Peck," the blonde was shouting, "You have me mixed up with someone else! My name is Will Tippin!"

"Nice try, Peck, but we've had a tip off that you'd be here," the policeman was saying. "So, where's Smith, then?"

Tip off? Shit. Face turned back to Hannibal. "We gotta get outta here, boss, someone's tipped off the law that about us," he hissed and quickly, stealthily made their escape.

oOo

"That's just ridiculous!" Jack Bristow threw up his hands. He looked over at Will and grimaced. The reporter was struggling... he was going to get hurt. Who the hell was this Peck? The A Team? He turned to his daughter, "Do you know what the hell is going on, Sydney?"

It unnerved him that he _didn't_ know.

"Get _off_ me!" Will gasped when the policeman pushed his cuffed hands painfully up his back. Sydney yelled out and started forward.

"Stop it! You're hurting him!"

"Just check his passport, will you, he's Will Tippin, not this... this Peck person!" Jack shouted, spinning around and getting seriously up close and personal with the police man in charge. "You really don't know who you're dealing with, _sir_ ," he hissed, laying on the menace thickly and then silently berating himself for his lack of control, but after a twelve hour flight and five hour delay, his nerves were already fried. "Look, whoever you think he is, you're wrong. Check his credentials."

"That's all well and good, Mr..." the policeman waited for Jack to fill in the blank and frowned when he didn't. "Credentials can be forged. Lieutenant Peck will be coming down to the station, where a certain Colonel Lynch will pick him up in," he checked his watch and smirked, "Two hours."

Tippin was then roughly manhandled into the back of a squad car. He jumped when the door was slammed shut and stared out of the window at Sydney and her father. His arms ached and he was scared. Memories of Taipei slammed into the front of his mind and he swallowed hard.

"Just hang in there, Will, we'll sort this out," Sydney shouted. Will's face was the mask of fear and her heart nearly broke.

And then Will was gone.

Jack quickly flagged down a taxi and pulled out his cell phone. Whoever this Peck was... he was going to wish he'd never been born!

oOo

BA kept to the speed limit as he drove out of the airport car park, with Murdock scanning for signs of police. So far, it was all clear.

"So, this guy actually looked like you, Facey?" Murdock asked for the third time, clearly really fascinated. Face sighed - again - and nodded.

"Yes, just like me..."

"Your evil twin?"

Face snorted. "Oh, I don't think so, kid looked far too sweet to be evil."

"Sweet?"

"Yeah," Hannibal frowned. When he'd seen the young man he'd had a sudden irrational flash back to when he'd first met Face in boot camp... young, brash, maybe a touch of innocence, but not so sweet... "Face, find out who he is," he decided. He needed to know.

"On it, boss," Face nodded and pulled out his wireless netbook. They had satellite internet, which proved to be really useful on the run. He typed in Will Tippin and blinked.

"Oh my god... that _is_ you, Facey!" Murdock squeaked as he peered over Face's shoulder. "That's real spooky!"

Face frowned but read out what it said. "Will Tippin, local reporter with a Los Angeles newspaper, winner of the Kaplan Award... yadda... Hmmm," Face mused, "Not much to this guy. Lives and works here in LA... BA in Print Journalism, born March eighth 1973 in Austin, Texas. Height 6'1", speaks Spanish... Sounds like a wholesome American boy, boss."

"But he has your face... Face," Murdock said, eyebrows raised.

"Oh, wait a minute," Face frowned, "These details are at least six years old, and," he tapped the keyboard again, hacking into official databases, "There's nothing else since."

Hannibal blinked. "Nothing?"

"Absolutely nothing," Face shrugged. That was strange, like he'd been wiped off the grid, like he'd been erased, like... "Oh shit," Face hissed, eyes wide, "What d'ya think? Some kind of witness protection?"

Nodding, Hannibal winced. Maybe, and if that was true, the kid was in a heap of trouble since he'd been mistaken for Face.

oOo

"Christ, dad, this is a nightmare," Sydney said and looked up, worry in her eyes. Jack snapped his cell shut and blew out a breath. He'd just got the low down on Lieutenant Templeton Peck, and didn't like what he'd found out.

"This Peck is a wanted fugitive," he said quietly. Sydney twisted in the seat of the taxi and stared at him, eyes wide. "Belongs to a team, called the A-Team, headed by Colonel John Smith. Two others, too. The whole team are fugitives, and Tippin apparently is a dead ringer for Peck."

"Surely when they check into-"

"Which they can't, because Tippin's records are sealed," Jack scowled. Sydney knows that. Since Taipei, Jack had insisted for the reporter's own safety.

"Shit," Sydney frowned. The taxi pulled up at the police station where Will had been taken and Jack and Sydney got out.

oOo

"So, what d'ya wanna do, boss," Face asked as he closed his netbook. Hannibal chewed on his cigar for a moment, brow creased in thought. His conscience fought against itself, on one hand he didn't know Tippin, why should he even care? But on the other, the kid was is a lot of trouble, just because he looked like Face, and Hannibal couldn't help but feel a little guilty about that.

That, plus the fact that if Tippin _was_ in some kind of protection program, the odds of him getting himself out of this whole mess had just plummeted.

"We gotta help the kid," Hannibal sighed. Murdock suddenly held up a finger and frowned.

"Hey, here's a question, who d'ya think tipped off the authorities in the first place?"

BA glanced at Hannibal, clearly wanting to know the answer to that, too. Face and Hannibal had only been in Florida for three days, talking to a potential client, they'd not really had time to 'get noticed'. And Face's fake ID's were perfect, as always. It was a mystery.

"Face?" Hannibal shrugged, stumped himself.

"I dunno," Face shook his head. "Maybe... Oh!" He sat forward in his seat and pulled an incredulous face. "Oh my God, you don't think it was that girl in the bookshop at the airport, do you, boss?"

"Girl?" Murdock said, giving Face one of _those_ looks. Face frowned.

"Hey, it wasn't me," he protested. It wasn't. Face had been buying a magazine when Hannibal quickly shuffled them to a secluded corner and told him he _might_ have been recognised.

"Ah shit, yeah," Hannibal sighed. "You might be right, kid. She definitely looked at me funny."

"Funny?" Face snickered, "You thought she was comin' on to you!"

Hannibal rolled his eyes. "Anyway, whatever happened, this kid, Tippin, is in trouble. I can't see Lynch givin' him up easily, especially when there's no 'official' background on him."

"So what, we bust him out of prison?" Murdock asked.

"Simply put, but yeah. Preferably _before_ Lynch get's his hands on him," Hannibal nodded, and BA spun the van around and headed towards the city. "Face, find out where he is."

"Right." And Face opened his netbook again.

oOo

"Lt Peck is being held for questioning," the sergeant on duty said, "No visitors allowed."

"This is ridiculous," Jack growled, "He's not Peck. His name is Will Tippin!"

"Look, sir, he's a friend of mine, I've known him since university, you've made a huge mistake," Sydney added. The sergeant just shrugged.

"I'm sorry, miss, but the orders came from the military. He's not to have any visitors until they get here."

Jack pulled his daughter away from the desk and prying eyes of the sergeant. "Look, Syd, you stay here," he murmured, "I'm going to go and check in with Devlin, let him know what's happening."

Sydney nodded. They couldn't _do_ anything without drawing unwanted attention on themselves. It was frustrating.

oOo

"Jesus Christ, bossman, this has to be the craziest plan! Fuckin' insane!" Murdock stated as he buttoned up his colonel's uniform. He rubbed his sleeve over the name plate and snuffed out a snicker. It said 'Lynch'.

Face handed him his credentials and a clip board with transfer and release papers for Lieutenant Templeton Peck. "Now, in and out, Murdock, no heroics, okay?"

"I know, Facey," he smiled and pressed on a fake moustache. "Do I look alright?"

"You look fine, kid," Hannibal grinned.

It was easy to find out where 'Peck' was being held and equally easy to ascertain who and when the military was sending. Lynch. Hannibal's plan was to simply impersonate Lynch, pick up Tippin and take him where he wanted to go. Murdock was chosen because he was the obvious choice, much to his delight. He _loved_ Hannibal's whacked out bat-shit crazy plans!

"Okay then, be back in a jiffy," the pilot said with a wink and hopped out of the van.

"Fool's as crazy as the plan, Hannibal," BA murmured watching Murdock walk into the station with an air of authority.

"Sergeant," Murdock leaned forward and peered at the desk sergeant's name tag, "Ford. I am Colonel Lynch."

The sergeant practically preened, it was embarrassing. "Oh, sir, yes sir," he gushed only just stopping himself from saluting. Murdock raised an eyebrow.

"I believe you have a prisoner for me?"

"Yes, yes, of course. He's right this way, sir... I mean colonel, sir," Ford stumbled. "I trust you have the papers, sir?"

Murdock handed the sergeant the clip board and waited for him to read it.

"Excuse me," Sydney said touching Murdock's arm to get his attention. The pilot turned. "Um, there's been a huge misunderstanding."

"I'm sorry, miss, you are...?" Murdock asked.

"Sydney Bristow, a friend of the man you think is Peck," she answered, quickly adding, "But he's not Peck, his name is Will Tippin."

Murdock looked at her and narrowed his eyes. "I'm sure you think so, Miss Bristow, but Peck is a master of deception-"

"No... You don't understand-"

"Miss," the sergeant butted when Murdock gave him an impatient exasperated look. "Back off, or I'll have you escorted off the premises."

"Thank you," Murdock growled feigning annoyance. The sergeant handed him the clip board with a smile.

"Everything seems to be in order, Colonel Lynch," he said and motioned Murdock towards the holding area.

Sydney threw up her hands. "You're making a huge mistake!" she shouted, frustration and anger bubbling up inside her.

"Have that woman escorted off the premises!" the sergeant shouted back.

oOo

Down in the holding cells, Will sat in silence on his bunk, staring at nothing. He was cold, and couldn't stop the chill from seeping deep into his bones... Memories of Taipei filled his head now, and he shivered as he relived every terrifying moment of that time.

He heard voices, but couldn't make out what they were saying, but he knew, he _knew_ they were coming for him, and he started to hyperventilate.

"Lieutenant Peck, visitor for you," Sergeant Ford said and unlocked his cell door. Murdock looked in and blinked. Wow, the man sat on the bed could have been his best friend, Face, they looked so alike! A second passed before he noticed the man in distress. Shit.

"What's wrong with you?" Ford barked. Will flinched and scrambled into the corner of the bed.

"No... Please don't kill me..." The plea was barely audible, but Murdock heard it and instantly knew what was happening. He grabbed the sergeant's arm and pushed him out of the cell.

"Leave me with him a minute," he nodded, a look on his face that said 'he's faking, let me sort him out' and Ford grinned.

As soon as the door closed, Murdock carefully knelt before the man in the middle of a panic flashback. "Mr Tippin?"

Will screwed his eyes shut tight.

"Will," Murdock said very quietly, "Look, I know you don't know what's goin' on, but I'm here to help you. You hafta trust me. Can you trust me?"

"W-what?" Will whispered, his eyes open and confused. Murdock smiled at him.

"You back with me, now?"

"What?" Will asked again.

"You were having some kind of flashback," Murdock explained. "Are you alright?"

Will blinked, his mind becoming focussed again. He frowned at the man on his knees. "No!" he suddenly blurted. "No, I'm not alright! Who the hell are you?"

Murdock quickly glanced at the cell door before leaning close to Will. "I'm here to get you out, take you home if you like, but you have to trust me. Can you do that?" he asked again.

"I don't even know you," Will hissed, blue eyes, so much like Face's, glaring.

"So, you'd rather stay here, then?" Murdock shrugged. And at that Will blinked, and shook his head. Murdock grinned. "Alrighty then. Do as I say, don't talk, and you'll be home before supper!"

"Okay," Will nodded after only a slight hesitation.

Murdock stood and banged on the door, cuffing Will as he waited for Ford to open it.

"We'll take the back way out," Murdock said, "You understand. Member of the A-Team an' all."

"Oh yes, of course, colonel," Ford nodded. "Good thinking."

"Right. Thank you for your cooperation, sergeant, I'll take it from here," Murdock finished, grabbed Will's arm and escorted him out of the building, and straight into BA's van.

"Piece of cake!" the pilot grinned when BA sped off, but Hannibal was sat staring at Face and Will, who were both staring at each other. Murdock looked across at them.

"Oh my god! Wow, that is ... _spooky_!"

"I... I take it you're Peck," Will asked not able to tear his eyes away from his mirror image sat next to him. Face nodded. Will narrowed his eyes. "You're a fugitive?"

"Ah," Hannibal said and winced. "It's complicated."

"No shit!" Will suddenly exploded. "Who _are_ you people?" He looked at Face again and unconsciously ran his fingers over his own features.

"Oh, right, um..." Murdock started looking up at Hannibal to carry on. The colonel sighed.

"Mr Tippin, I'm Colonel Hannibal Smith, you - unfortunately- know Lieutenant Peck, that's Captain Murdock and this is Corporal Baracus," Hannibal introduced them. "We're collectively known as-"

"The A Team," Will finished. "Yeah, I heard them at the station. What are you, some kind of suburban super heroes?"

He'd half listened to the conversations and outrageous stories that were thrown around at the station about this 'fantastic' team that helped people out of sticky situations. What he didn't understand was, if they were that great, why were they wanted fugitives?

Hannibal laughed at the term Will used. "No, kid, we're no super heroes," he said, "We just help who we can."

"Soldiers of fortune," Murdock nodded with a grin, "S'what we are, ain't it, bossman?"

"Sure, kid." Hannibal looked at Will and pursed his lips. Will blinked at him. "We owe you an apology."

"What?" Will frowned. Face nudged him and the reporter nearly jumped out of his skin, his nervous energy practically crackling.

"'Cause you look like me," the lieutenant said. Will stared at him again. Even their voices were similar. "And you kinda got arrested because they thought you were... me."

Will didn't have an answer to that.

Hannibal had his own questions though. "Now, normally we wouldn't have intervened, mistaken identities are usually resolved quickly, but... You're a bit of an enigma yourself, Mr Tippin." He cocked his head and watched with a frown as the colour drained from Tippin's face.

"I... ah..." Will trailed off. He couldn't say anything. Jack had told him _never_ to talk about his past now his identity was sealed.

"So, that's why we stepped in. We don't want to know anything about you, Mr Tippin, and we won't say anything to anyone either," Hannibal said sincerely.

Will blew out a slow steady breath.

"Now, where would you like to be dropped off?"

oOo

Devlin shook his head and pushed his hand through his hair. Jack Bristow was asking an awful lot of him! He liked Will Tippin, that wasn't in dispute, but interfering in military justice without revealing who Tippin was, it was just crazy.

"Look, Devlin, Will's been an asset to this agency," Jack said, his eyes hard, "And I don't even want to think about what Sydney would do if Will disappears because this mistaken identity bullshit isn't sorted out. And soon!"

"Jack-"

"As a favour to me," Jack added. Devlin sighed and nodded. Jack was still looking at him.

"Something else, Jack?"

"I want this Peck," the double agent said quietly.

"I'll see what I can do."

oOo

BA pulled the van into an alleyway near Tippin's apartment building.

"This is as close as we're going, kid," Hannibal said. Will nodded.

"Yeah, it's okay... um..."

The hesitation made Face frown and he gently nudged his strange doppelganger. "Hey, I really am sorry, Will," he said softly, apologising for looking like him and inadvertently landing the reporter in a whole heap of bother. Will looked at him and hesitantly smiled. "But, I can't promise it won't happen again," Face added carefully.

Will looked up sharply. Of course he couldn't, but then, Will couldn't promise the safety of Peck or his friends. "Yeah, I know... look," he hedged, "Just, ah... Look, I have, ah, friends..."

Hannibal gave him a knowing smile. "Yeah, we guessed that, kid."

"You did?"

"FBI? NSA? CIA? It's alphabetti city!" Murdock grinned and Will shook his head. It was obvious this group of people knew something was ...classified about him, but that was all. They didn't know what it was, didn't know Jack or Sydney, and Will wanted to keep it that way.

"Oh, okay..." he said and climbed out of the van. With a last look at Face, Will sprinted to his apartment, locked and dead bolted his door and grabbed his phone.

oOo

"Will!" Sydney cried. She was with Jack and Devlin, who both turned with wide eyes to look at her.

Shortly after Murdock had disappeared with Will, the real Colonel Lynch had turned up. Tempted as she was to sneak into the building to see that desk sergeant squirm, the overwhelming worry she felt for Will had overtaken and she'd headed back to the CIA agency. She had no idea where Will was, or who had taken him.

Her immediate thought was Sloane, and that made her sick.

"Will, where are you?"

 _"I'm at home."_

"What?" Sydney looked at her father shocked. "He's at home!" She sucked in a breath, heart palpitating with relief. "Stay where you are, I'm coming for you."

 _"Okay."_

She snapped her phone shut and ran out of the office. Jack turned to Devlin.

"Did you find anything on Peck, other than what there is?" he asked. Devlin pulled out a file.

"You're not gonna like it, Jack," the C.I.A. Director of L.A. Operations said. Jack took the file and frowned.

Peck turned out to be an illegitimate Samaritan. A part of something called The A team. A good guy, in the loosest sense. His military file read like a farce. A Ranger, decorated soldier, excellent sniper skills, dishonourably discharged and incarcerated for a crime he didn't commit, escaped federal custody to right that wrong, and arrested again for unlawfully escaping federal custody in the first place. Still wanted by the government.

"What the hell is this?" Jack asked. "Typical military bullshit!" He slammed the file down and put his hands on his hips. No way was he going after this guy, in the basest of terms, he identified with him.

It was just unfortunate that Will Tippin had been in the wrong place at the wrong time.

oOo

"Will? Will, it's me, Syd," Sydney said, smiling and flinging herself at him when he opened the door. "Oh god, I was so worried! Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine," Will said and shut the door. They sat down.

"So, what happened, Will? Where did you disappear to?"

"I... I'm really sure, it's all very surreal, Syd," Will said, weird expression on his face. "I was ...rescued by the A Team."

"The what?" Sydney asked.

"Um, Peck is a member, and ...oh my god, Syd, he looks just like me!" Will told her, still shocked himself. "They came for me because I look like Peck and I was, apparently, in a lot of trouble." He leaned back and ran his fingers through his blonde hair. "They're good guys, Syd," he said softly, "I don't know why, but I just know they are." He looked up. "Jack isn't going to do something drastic, is he?"

Knowing Jack Bristow, Will actually felt for Templeton Peck, the fugitive with his face.

"I can't promise that, Will," Syd said quietly, "Like I can't promise I won't either, if I ever see him."

"But it wasn't really his fault. It was just a case of mistaken identity," Will shrugged, secretly feeling secure and relieved he had friends that _really_ looked out for him.

"Maybe so," Sydney said, forehead creased in thought. "I think we'll have to create a second identity for you, just in case this ever happens again though."

"Sounds like a plan," Will smiled.

oOo

"Wow, that was some day," Face mused as he sipped whiskey from a glass tumbler. Hannibal's cigar flared in the evening light casting an eerie glow over his face.

"Still freaked out, kid?"

"Fuckin' hell, boss, the guy had _my_ face!" Face almost squeaked. "Freaked out, hell yes!"

Hannibal turned and leaned his butt against the railing that surrounded the deck. The house that Face had scammed was beautiful, overlooking a small inlet, it's own jetty, boat house _and_ boat...

"If you think about it, he did us a favour," the colonel mused. "Right time right place for us, wrong for him."

Face pondered that for a moment. "You know, Murdock said he had some sort of scary flashback, said 'don't kill me'," he told Hannibal quietly. "Makes me wonder what the hell someone that looks as innocent and sweet as Will Tippin has been through. I mean, sealed records, no 'official' past. I hope he's okay. Nice kid."

"The world is an evil place, kid," Hannibal said and drew on his cigar again, the smoke curling upwards. "I hope he has friends that can take care of him."

"Yeah, me too," Face nodded, adding silently, friends like I have.


End file.
